Rant: Everyone says go ultralight but my 45L pack worked better for a 5 day trip

I tried the whole ultralight thing last summer on the John Muir Trail. Cut my base weight to like 12 pounds, spent 200 bucks on a frameless pack. Day three my shoulders were killing me and I had nowhere to put my water filter or rain jacket. Switched back to my old 45L Osprey for a trip near Yosemite last month. Carried 35 pounds easy with zero pain. Sometimes having a real frame and some extra room is worth the weight. Anyone else find ultralight gear just doesn't work for longer stretches?

2 comments

2 Comments

laura_ross1mo agoMost Upvoted

...and that's when I realized ultralight is just a fancy way of saying "I like my spine compressed into a neat little accordion." Seriously, folks act like shaving off four ounces is going to change your life, but then you end up wearing your tent stakes as earrings because your pack has zero organizational pockets. My buddy went full ultralight and spent half the trip asking me to stash his stuff in my "heavy" Osprey, so I'm not convinced it's not just a weird flex. More power to the people who can fit everything in a fanny pack and a dream, but I'll stick with my 45L and a proper hip belt, thank you very much.

simonmoore1mo ago

And that's exactly why I keep a 2oz stuff sack in my hip belt pocket for the guy who thinks he can live without organization. Tell your buddy @laura_ross to pack a lightweight sit pad next time. You can use it as a frame sheet to give that frameless pack some structure.